David Moody - Them or Us

The door we came through slams shut behind me and I spin around quickly. Then I see him. There’s an Unchanged man holding a rifle, aiming it straight into my face. In spite of everything that’s happened, the unexpected sight of one of them is too much to stand. I draw my knife and run toward him with an instinctive speed and ferocity that surprises even me, knocking the barrel of the gun away and lunging at him, focusing on the thought of smashing his head in and leaving him lying dead at my feet.

“McCoyne, don’t!”

Sutton throws himself at me, slamming me against the side wall. I slide down to the floor and immediately try to scramble back onto my feet. The Unchanged man stands over me, his rifle pointing down into my face, ready to fire.

“Thought you said he was okay,” he says to Sutton, his voice filled with nervous anger.

“He is okay,” Sutton says, helping me up but still keeping me at a distance. I try to lunge for the Unchanged again, but Sutton anticipates my movements and pushes me back against the wall. “Control yourself,” he warns.

“Unchanged, Sutton? What the fuck are you doing?”

Before he can answer, another door opens, opposite to the one we came in through. Another Unchanged man appears. Both of them are desperately thin, their tired faces drawn and hollow, skin pale and covered with sores, eyes black and wide. How long have they been hiding down here?

“Who the hell’s this?” the second Unchanged asks.

“It’s okay, Parker,” Sutton tells him. “He’s with me.”

“Fucker went for me,” the first one sneers, rifle still just inches from my face.

“That was my fault. I didn’t tell him about you. I didn’t want to risk it until I’d got him down here.”

Sutton’s still pushing me back. I start to relax slightly, and I feel him loosen his grip. The initial shock’s fading, and my self-control is beginning to return. Don’t lose your head, I tell myself. I need to stay calm, stay in control, then get the fuck back to Lowestoft and tell Hinchcliffe about this place.

“What’s going on?” I ask. Sutton takes a cautious step away from me, and the first Unchanged man panics again. He pushes me back, jabbing the barrel of the gun hard into my chest. I raise my hands.

“Don’t,” Sutton says, trying to move the Unchanged away. “If he was going to kill you he’d have done it by now, believe me. Like I said, it was just the shock of seeing you. He had no idea.”

“So why is he here?” the one called Parker asks, not taking his eyes off me. The other Unchanged stands his ground, refusing to lower his weapon.

“You know why,” Sutton answers. “I told you I needed help. I can’t do this on my own anymore. McCoyne was my only option. Without him we’re all screwed.”

“You should have warned us.”

“You should have warned me,” I say, wincing as the rifle roughly probes my delicate gut.

“I knew,” the gunman tells Parker, clearly enjoying the discomfort he’s causing me.

“I had to keep it quiet in case things didn’t work out,” Sutton continues. “Dean needed to know because I knew it’d be him who opened the door and I didn’t want him panicking and shooting us both. It was the only way. I didn’t want the others to get concerned.”

“Others?” I interrupt, feeling my skin prickling with unease. “There are others?”

Sutton finally manages to get the armed man to lower his rifle. I’m still thinking constantly about killing these evil bastards, but my control is continuing to return. Like Sutton said, it was the shock of finding myself face-to-face with these people that made me react so immediately, so viciously. I’d be stupid to try anything. I’m outnumbered and they’re armed, and at this moment in time I don’t know whether Sutton would fight with me or against me.

“Get rid of him,” Parker says. “You shouldn’t have brought him here, Pete.”

Sutton stands in the very center of the room, separating me from the Unchanged like a referee at a boxing match.

“I had to bring him, you know I did. We talked about this.”

“What the hell are you doing?” I demand, ignoring their inconsequential conversation. “If Hinchcliffe or anyone else finds out what’s down here, they’ll kill you as well as these two.”

“If it wasn’t for Pete we’d be dead anyway,” Dean, the gunman, says. I don’t react. It’s one thing finding myself shut underground with two Unchanged scum; acknowledging either of them is another matter altogether.

“Do you really think I’m that stupid?” Sutton sighs. “Do you think I’d let any of them know about this place?”

“You told me.”

“Yes, but you’re different from the rest of them, I keep telling you. You’re like me. You can help these people. I can’t do this on my own anymore.”

“Do what? I don’t understand. I’m not going to help Unchanged, and neither should you. Just kill them and walk away.”

“I can’t.”

“But they’re just Unchanged, Sutton, probably the last of their kind. Things are hard enough up there without all of this.”

“Looks like he’s going to be a real help,” Parker sighs sarcastically, leaning back against the wall and staring straight at me. “Bad move bringing him here. We should kill him.”

“You couldn’t do it,” I spit at him. “And that’s why you’re down here and I’m up there.”

“I’ll do it,” Dean says menacingly, raising the rifle and taking a step forward. I lunge forward to defend myself, but Sutton blocks me, wedging himself between us again. He now has me on one side and the barrel of the rifle on the other. With surprising calm and self-assurance, he pushes us both away to our respective corners.

“And how will that help anyone?” he asks, his voice terse, clearly not impressed. “It’s that kind of bullshit that got us all into this mess. Like I said, Dean, I didn’t have any choice. You know how hard this is getting. I can’t do everything on my own anymore, and if I can’t do it, we’re all history.”

I grab Sutton’s shoulder and turn him around to face me. “Will you just tell me what’s going on?”

He gestures for Parker to open the door opposite the entrance we came through. Parker’s still hesitant.

“Don’t,” Dean says, the rifle still raised.

“It’s okay,” Sutton calmly replies. “Like I said, Dean, he’d have killed you by now if he was going to. He’s like me. Just give him a little time to get used to the situation.”

“Keep him under control, then,” he orders nervously, “because I’ll shoot you both if I have to.”

Parker rests his hands on the door, then pauses again.

“You’re completely sure about this, Pete?”

Sutton nods again. “We don’t have any choice.”

Parker opens the door. It’s heavy like a safe door, and he needs to use all his weight to push it fully open. He blocks my way forward, still unsure, and I recoil when I accidentally brush against him. Sutton squeezes between us, and Parker reluctantly moves to one side to let him through. I feel the barrel of the rifle resting between my shoulder blades.

“Keep yourself under control, Danny,” Sutton whispers as I follow him. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

We enter another room. The lighting’s marginally better in here, but the shape of the space is very different and I’m still not able to see much. I can just about make out enough of the walls and ceiling to see that this looks like some kind of long, sloping access corridor. Sutton slows and grabs my arm again, obviously expecting me to react. As my eyes become used to the light levels I see that there are more Unchanged in here at the farthest end of the corridor. I count another four of them sitting on the floor, leaning up against the walls. I stare at each one of them as I pass. They look like famine victims from old TV news reports, limbs like sticks. Two of them are too weak to even lift their heads. One glares at me, a mix of hate and horror on her face. The fourth scuttles away along the floor, hurriedly moving back in the direction from which we’ve just come to get out of the way. They are broken, empty people. Do they know what I am? I know I should be killing them or at least finding a way to get someone here to do it for me. The fact I’m doing neither is adding to the nausea I’m already feeling. These pathetic fuckers make me feel physically sick.